Preformed blanks for false teeth set-up

ABSTRACT

Set-ups of sets of teeth individually selected from assortments of conventional and readily available false teeth are prepared on preformed dental arch ridge conforming blanks selected for the individual patient from a supply of sizes and configurations. Each blank has means for individually positioning each tooth of the set and serves as a support for the set-up enabling testing and adjusting in the mouth. Also, preselected sets of teeth may be supplied to dentists and technicians, each set of teeth being set-up in an appropriately sized blank. Thereafter the set-up including the blank serves as an integral part of the finished denture.

United StatesPatent [1 1' I Wichner 1 1 PREFORMED BLANKS FOR FALSE TEETH v SET-UP [75] Inventor: Theodore Wichner, Miami Beach,

Fla.

' [73] Assignee: Valeria O. Wichner, Miami Beach,

Fla. ;,a part interest [22] Filed: Jan. 5, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 321 ,257

52 us. Cl. 32/2 [51] Int. Cl. A6lc 13/00 [58] Field of Search 32/2, 11,71

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,036 678 4/1936 Blake 32/2' 2,341,156 2/1944 Myerson.... 3,335,495 8/1957 Wichner 32/2 1 Nov. 12, 1974 Primary ExaminerAntonio F. Guida Assistant Examiner-J. Q, Lever Attorney, Agent, or Firm--Erwin M. Barnett blank serves as an integral part of the finished denture.

5 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PREFORMED BLANKS FOR FALSE TEETH-SET-UP v BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION these dentures distinguish from the well knownjcust'om denture. v

2. Description of the prior art One of the advantages of the custom denture is its versatility in the selection of each of the false teethindividually for desired size, shape and color and-the proper positioning of those selected teeth in relation to each other, to the gum line, and to the teeth of the opposing jaw. The selected false teeth'are set-up in wax formed as temporary dentures usually on stone models ofthe patients jaw in a painstaking, time consuming procedure by a highly skilled andtrainedtechnician. The temporary denture is then fittedand adjustedin the patients mouth and, when found satisfactory, the wax is replaced by permanentacrylic or other suitable plastic in the manner well known in the art.

One form of directly made dentureis completely prefabricated with the teeth prepositioned and requires only lining to snugflt thefpatients gums and palate after the proper size and shape denture is selectedfrom those available. A method of aiding the individual in his selection so that he may fit'his own dentures is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,685,133, of whichlama coinventor. To combine the advantages of betterfit and appearance of the custom denture withthe-economy and availability of the directly made denture,-rny prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,335,495 disclosesapreformedsec tional denture which permits selection of individual teeth but requires the teeth to be of'a specialconstruction. The present invention is an improvement of my said prior patent disclosure andutilizes false teeth of constructions that. are currently readily'available. The existing need in dental clinics wherelarge numbers of patients must be served quickly and economically is also satisfied by this invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Among the objects of the invention is to provide dentures and methods of forming same which dentures will approximate custom dentures in fit and appearance yet will be inexpensive, capable of being made and completely fitted in one or no more than two sittings, and are adaptable both to dental clinic procedure where patients can be served in assembly-line fashion without sacrifice of quality results and to the private dentist taking personal pride in his work.

Preformed gum conforming blanks are provided for upper and lower jaws in a range of predetermined sizes and configurations to include the various dimensions of the male and female mouth. Each blank is formed with cut-outs on its ridge portion to seat each of the teeth of the set individually so that each tooth may be carefully selected and matched from a stock of conventional false teeth customarily available to the dentist. In making the semi-custom denture, the preformed blank is selected to best fit a stone model of the patients jaw and, with the aid of wax, the teethare positioned in the blank which has been placed on the stone model to make a temporary set-up for checking and adjusting in the patients mouth; Thereafter, the denture is prepared by conventional molding methods in which the teeth and blank become an-integral part of the denture.

For the directly made denture, the set-up of the teeth and blank is done on a preformed base selected to best fit the patients gums. A slow curing material'is used to bind-the teeth, blank and base together into a set-up initially permitting adjustment'of the teeth in the mouth and subsequently setting into a permanent unitary structure.

Manufacturers or distributors of false teeth may supply complete sets of teeth preselected and placed in preformedblanks ready, after selection with regard to the size and shape of the blank, for application directly to'the stone model.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. '1 is an exploded bottom plan view of a preformed gum-ridge conforming blank anda set of false teethwhichare to be secured to'the blank.

FIG. 2'is an exploded perspective view of the blank andteeth showninFlG; l.

FIG. 3"is aplan view of the blank and teeth shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 assembled on a stone model in accordance withthe invention. v

FIG: 4 isa modified form ofthe blank shown in FIG.

FIG; 6 is a perspective view of a set of false teeth placed "in its preformed blank providing a supplier's package unit, and

, FIG: Tisasectional view taken on line 7-7 in FIG.

DESGRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referringin detail to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawing, blank 10 is seen to substantially conform to a patients.

dental arch ridge and comprises an outer or buccal portion 10a, aninner or lingual portion 10b, and a central opening or cut-out 11, the opposing edges of which may have a series of concave portions 11a separated by inward projections 11b defining a series of locations or seats, one foreach of the false teeth 12 of the set. In accordance with the invention, blank 10 is relatively thin, namely, of a thickness permitting embedment in the completed'denture and is preformed of an acrylic or other plastic material compatable with that of said denture. Blank 10 is provided in an assortment of sizes and I and having a palate P. A preformed blank 10 is selected from the assortment to best fit the dental arch ridge and FIG; S is-an exploded perspective view of a direct "made denture shown to comprise a base, a blank and I ually selected from a supply of conventional false teeth which may be made .either of plastic or porcelain. Each selected tooth is positioned with its base in centralcutout 11 of blank 10 and is temporarily secured thereto.

by a suitable wax, proper relative seating of each tooth being readily accomplished by. registration thereof with v its respective concave portion 11a of cut-out 11.

A similar set-up is made for the lower jaw, an assortment of lower jaw blanks, likewise, being provided for turned to the stone models'for completion, for example, the addition of the palate portion of the upper denner well known in the art, blanks 10 being retained as an integral part of the finished semi-custom dentures.

Where dental laboratory equipment and technicians are readily available as may be the case in large dental clinics, the above described semi-custom molded dentures may be completed and delivered to the patient on the same day.

A modified form of blank 20, as illustrated in FIG. 4, is seen to be blank 10 lacking a lingual portion 10b, its buccal portion 20a being provided with an interior edge 2l-formed with concave portions 21a and projections 21b which correspond to the buccal edge of cutout 11, concave portions 11a and projections 11b, respectively. It will be apparent that blank 20 will serve in a manner similar to that hereinbefore described with respect to blank 10.

The directly made denture isseen in FIG. to comprise a preformed base 33, a preformed blank 30 and a set of teeth 32. Base 33 is made of an acrylic or other suitable plastic material asa relatively thin structure similar to the base shown and described in my said prior patent but without the locating pins. Similarly, bases 33 are supplied in an assortmentof sizes and shapes to provide an approximate fit for all individuals, each size of the assortment having a corresponding blank 30 fitted for use therewith. Each blank 30 is seen to have a buccal portion 30a and a central opening or cut-out 31 formed with concave portions 31a separated by inward projections 31b similar to the corresponding structure of blank 10.

With a supply of assortments of bases 33, blanks 30, and sets of teeth 32 for the upper and lower jaws on ture. The wax is then replaced with acrylic in the manhand, a directly made pair of dentures may be expertly assembled and fitted for immediate use by the patient in a single sitting. The closest fitting pair of bases 33 for the upper and lower jaws are chosen from said assortments and are lined and fitted in the mouth for the patients comfort. Corresponding blanks 30 are then applied to the lined bases 33 and the sets of teeth 32 are set-up in the cut-outs 31, aided by concave portions which is compatable with the acrylic or plastic material from which bases 33 and the blanks 30 are made. The dentures may be directly checked in the 'patients mouth and any required repositioning, or adjustment of teeth 32 is rapidly accomplished before the bonding material sets permanently. 1

Whereas each blank 10 requires its set of false teeth 12, manufacturers of false teeth may utilize blanks 10 as a holder for packing and shipping their product. Accordingly, FIGS. 6 and 7 show a novel package comprising a set of teeth .12 which are matched. in size,

shape, and color and removably set in cut-out ll of a blank 10 by a strip of wax 13. In use, the appropriate package is selected from an assortment according to the desired size and shape of its blank 10 and then may be directly applied to the stone model S, thereby materially reducing the time for making the set-up. and yet preserving the capability for individuallyadjusting each tooth.

The'semi-custom and directly made dentures utilizing the preformed gum conforming blank herein disclosed are seen toachieve the several objects of the invention and to be well adapted to meet conditions of practical use. As various possible embodiments might be made in this invention, and as various changes might be made in the disclosed structures, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth and shown in the accompanying drawing are to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. A dental ridge blank provided in a range of sizes and arch shaped configurations corresponding to those of the human dental ridge said blank being preformed ofa material and of a limitedthickness to become an integral part of the completed denture, and having a cut-out portion for positioning therein the support end of false teeth of standard construction, said positioning permitting relative movement of the teeth for adjustment purposes.

2. The dental ridge blank defined in claim 1 in which said blank has an interior edge serving as said cut-out portion and includes a concave portion indicating a location for each of the teeth.

3. The dental ridge blank defined in claim 1, a wax material temporarily retaining each of said false teeth in said positions in said blank cut-out providinga temporary set-up capable of accomplishing said adjustment in the patients mouth in the preparation of a semicustom denture. v

'4. The dental ridge blank defined in claim 1 in which said cut-out portion is formed with concave portions which indicate seating positions for the teeth.

5. The dental ridge blank defined in claim 1, a preformed base to which the blank is applied, a slow curing resin adjustably retaining each of said false teeth in said positions providing a set-up capable of accomplishing said adjustment in the patients mouth, said resin after curing as a directly made denture. 

1. A dental ridge blank provided in a range of sizes and arch shaped configurations corresponding to those of the human dental ridge, said blank being preformed of a material and of a limited thickness to become an integral part of the completed denture, and having a cut-out portion for positioning therein the support end of false teeth of standard construction, said positioning permitting relative movement of the teeth for adjustment purposes.
 2. The dental ridge blank defined in claim 1 in which said blank has an interior edge serving as said cut-out portion and includes a concave portion indicating a location for each of the teeth.
 3. The dental ridge blank defined in claim 1, a wax material temporarily retaining each of said false teeth in said positions in said blank cut-out providing a temporary set-up capable of accomplishing said adjustment in the patient''s mouth in the preparation of a semi-custom denture.
 4. The dental ridge blank defined in claim 1 in which said cut-out portion is formed with concave portions which indicate seating positions for the teeth.
 5. The dental ridge blank defined in claim 1, a preformed base to which the blank is applied, a slow curing resin adjustably retaining each of said false teeth in said positions providing a set-up capable of accomplishing said adjustment in the patient''s mouth, said base, blank and teeth being bonded together by said resin after curing as a directly made denture. 